DFS Resource Assessment - Delaware Department of Agriculture

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harvests. Because biomass harvests could use not only low value timber but also portions of trees that are not removed during a conventional harvest (limbs, stumps, etc.), the DFS may wish to consider developing guidelines for these harvests to ensure they do not reduce site productivity or otherwise detrimentally affect these sites. Delaware’s three State Forests are managed with the assistance of forest management plans prepared by staff foresters. The three State Forest management plans were updated in 2006 and address not only timber production, but the other entire suite of forest resources (wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, threatened and endangered species, etc.) as well. State Parks and Fish and Wildlife Areas are also managed with the assistance of forest management plans prepared by professional foresters. Although some of these lands are not managed for timber production, issues such as invasive species control, threatened and endangered species protection, and forest health are best approached with the help of a longterm forest management plan. Urban forestry assistance and guidelines are provided to Delaware’s communities and homeowners. Delaware participates in the Tree City USA program that recognizes communities that meet four criteria (tree board or commission, tree ordinance, spend at least $2/capita on tree planting and management, and recognize Arbor Day). Communities that achieve this status are actively managing their urban forest resources. The DFS uses the percentage of Delaware communities that have achieved Tree City USA status as a performance measure to gauge its success in helping cities and towns incorporate urban forest management into their long-term plans and thus sustainably manage their urban forests. Currently, 13 of Delaware’s 57 incorporated cities and towns (23 percent) have achieved Tree City USA status. By comparison, in 2000 only 4 communities were recognized. Delaware’s current Tree City USA communities are: Dagsboro Delaware City Dover Dover Air Force Base Fenwick Island Lewes Milford Newark Ocean View Odessa Smyrna Rehoboth Beach Wilmington Management of urban forest resources along public utility rights-of-way is also important to not only protect these resources but also for public safety. The Tree Line USA program, also administered by the National Arbor Day Foundation, recognizes utility companies that meet three criteria for proper management of trees along utility lines. Currently one Delaware company (Delmarva Power) is recognized as a Tree Line USA utility. The three Tree Line USA criteria are: 1. Quality Tree Care – The utility follows industry standards for pruning, planting, removals, and trenching and tunneling near trees. 2. Annual Worker Training – The utility ensures that its employees and contract workers are trained in best practices. 3. Tree Planting and Public Education – The utility sponsors and participates in a tree planting and public education program designed to expand canopy and educate customers about proper tree planting, placement, and pruning, including participation in community Arbor Day celebrations. The DFS also encourages communities and homeowners to utilize certified arborists for any tree care assistance. The DFS has partnered with the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) to provide training to tree care professionals to help them better manage our urban forests. Currently there are 81 certified arborists in Delaware. Additionally, the DFS provides forest management information to homeowners. Examples include a list for homeowners of recommended tree species for planting based on tree size (Right Tree for the Right Place) and soil types. As a corollary, the DFS also publishes a list of trees not to plant because they are either invasive or are prone to certain forest insects or diseases. Included with these publications are tree planting and tree care recommendations. [Appendix 2-14 contains a sampling of these publications.] Education, while not a specific forest management standard or guideline, is also an important function of the DFS. Increasing the public’s knowledge of the forest resource and its many benefits is vital to the long-term sustainability of our forests. Informed citizens, both children and adults, will help make wise decisions concerning forest policy. The DFS supports the internationally recognized Project Learning Tree (PLT) curriculum administered by the American Forest Foundation. The DFS has an educator on staff who provides PLT training to teachers and other educators as well as a PLT Advisory Committee to help monitor and improve the program. Additionally, the DFS provides wildfire prevention (Smokey Bear) programs to 1st grade students and Arbor Day programs to elementary students to improve students’ understanding of forestry issues. There are also education centers and trails at Blackbird and Redden State Forests to further the public’s forestry knowledge. One of the DFS performance measures is to 40 Delaware Forest Resource Assessment
track the percentage of elementary schools (public and private combined) that participate in at least one DFS educational program. In FY09, 60 percent of Delaware’s 192 elementary schools participated in a DFS educational program. Table 18 has a summary of the PLT, Smokey Bear, and Arbor Day programs in Delaware since 2005. Table 18. Percentage of Elementary Schools Participating in DFS Educational Programs and Number of Students Participating in Smokey Bear and Arbor Day Programs. Fiscal Year % of Schools Participating Source: Delaware Forest Service. # of Students 2005 56 9,600 2006 50 11,100 2007 47 11,600 2008 49 11,700 2009 60 11,900 Conclusions: Delaware, in partnership with other natural resource organizations, provides sustainable forest management standards to landowners. Tracking the percentage of timber harvests that follow a forest management plan shows that an increasing number of landowners utilize professional forestry assistance, although many landowners have yet to receive assistance. The DFS also partners with other natural resource organizations to provide urban forestry assistance and guidelines to communities, utilities, and tree care professionals. Approximately 30 percent of Delaware’s communities include urban forest management in their planning process – an increase from ten years ago. The DFS also provides educational information and recommendations to homeowners to help them better manage their urban trees. Lastly, Delaware provides educational programs to students and adults to increase their knowledge of the importance of forest resources. Indicator 18: Forest-related planning, assessment, policy, and law. Introduction: Laws addressing forest management place boundaries on permissible activities to protect soil and water quality as well as the forest itself. Forest-related planning and assessment are tools through which policy recommendations are made. Solid legal and planning frameworks are necessary to ensure sustainable forest management. In addition, site-specific planning is necessary to promote proper management at the stand and parcel levels. The Delaware Forest Service (DFS) has completed various forest planning documents in recent years. The Vision for the Future of Delaware’s Forests published in 1998 provided an overview of Delaware’s forest resources as well as current and future efforts to sustain these forests. A comprehensive Forest Health report published in 2006 provided a status of Delaware’s forests based on the 7 criteria and 18 indicators for sustainable forest management used for this state assessment. Additionally, a Forest Legacy Assessment of Need (AON) was completed and accepted by the USDA Secretary in December 1998 that presented a plan and guidelines for Delaware’s Forest Legacy Program including the state’s four Forest Legacy Areas (Figure 29). Lastly, the DFS completed a comprehensive five-year strategic plan in 2008 with input from a variety of stakeholders, including landowners, communities, nongovernmental organizations, and other public agencies (see Appendix 2- 14 for copies of each of these publications). Delaware also participates in the U.S Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program. FIA utilizes a series of permanent plots located throughout the state to analyze the forest resources (but not urban forests) including acreage, forest types, forest volume, growth, mortality, and other (wood) removals. This information is valuable not only to the DFS but also to many other parties as well including forest industry and other government agencies. In fact, much of the forest resource data in this assessment is FIA data. Until 2004, the U.S. Forest Service measured the FIA plots periodically – Delaware’s forests were measured in 1957, 1972, 1986, and 1999. Beginning in 2004, the U.S. Forest Service began measuring the FIA plots on a continuous basis. Federal funding is available to measure 1/7 of the plots annually; thus, after the first seven years, Delaware’s entire data set would be available. Delaware elected to provide state funding to reduce the measurement cycle to five years because land use changes are rapidly impacting our forestland. Additionally, due to Delaware’s small size, the estimates from the FIA plots are often based on relatively few observations and thus the values have large confidence intervals. Therefore, Delaware also invested funds to double the number of permanent plots to help Delaware Forest Resource Assessment 41
Page 1: Delaware Forest Resource Assessment
Page 5 and 6: I. INTRODUCTION Forests have played
Page 7 and 8: overseas food shipments. Thereafter
Page 9 and 10: Acres Urban Forests: Urban forest (
Page 11 and 12: Figure 6. Stocking classes in Delaw
Page 13 and 14: Indicator 3: Extent of forestland c
Page 15 and 16: marine waters and brackish marshes,
Page 17 and 18: Table 4. Status of Native Animals i
Page 19 and 20: enefit non-breeding species that ma
Page 21 and 22: Thousands of Acres Criterion 2: Mai
Page 23 and 24: Occasionally, a wildfire within a f
Page 25 and 26: primary hosts of BLS in Delaware ar
Page 27 and 28: Criterion 4: Conservation and Maint
Page 29 and 30: sides. The other 60 percent do not
Page 31 and 32: Millions - U.S. tons Criterion 5: M
Page 33 and 34: Criterion 6: Maintenance and Enhanc
Page 35 and 36: Indicator 13: Outdoor recreational
Page 37 and 38: eceives additional federal funds fo
Page 39 and 40: Acres Figure 27. Public Ownership i
Page 41 and 42: Plantation Act and Farmland Assessm
Page 43: Table 16. New Forest Stewardship Pl
Page 47 and 48: Delaware law also contains code for
Page 49 and 50: While there are very few primary wo
Page 51 and 52: provide important environmental ben
Page 53 and 54: markets for low-value timber. Howev
Page 55 and 56: tolandowners to help ensure the lon
Page 57 and 58: Partner with other organizations to
Page 59 and 60: State assessments are required to i
Page 61 and 62: 18. High Productivity Soils Soil an
Page 63 and 64: A map was then created to display t
Page 65 and 66: arrived. Great majestic forests onc
Page 67 and 68: Two unique communities found in the
Page 69 and 70: B. Input layers The data for the ur
Page 71 and 72: Figure 35. Urban Priority Areas by
Page 73 and 74: The majority of the population reli
Page 75 and 76: Delmarva Peninsula & Mid-Atlantic C
Page 77 and 78: forest priority area includes the m
Page 79 and 80: Roxbury, NY and flows southward tow
Page 81 and 82: IX. FOREST ASSESSMENT SUMMARY X. AP
Page 83: Public Review - Lastly, the DFS pro

DFS Resource Assessment - Delaware Department of Agriculture

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